As the nights draw in, we find ourselves retreating indoors to stay warm, perhaps to knit, sew or crochet to pass the time. How did people make thread for these crafts in the distant past? November’s Object of the Month are these two spindle whorls excavated from the Ambleside Roman Fort.
A spindle whorl is a small disk-shaped object, which is used as a counterweight to spin fibres into yarn, cord or thread. Whorls are traditionally made of stone, ceramic, metal, wood, bone, glass or amber, amongst other materials.
These two spindle whorls are from between the first and fourth centuries. One is made of earthenware clay, while the other is Samian. They were excavated from the Ambleside Roman Fort in the 1920s, when the National Trust owned the site.
In Roman times, it is believed weavers used hand spindles to create threads required for fabric, which would have been a lengthy process. It was an essential task, as someone would have to spin threads for every dress, shirt, bedsheet or ship’s sail made in the Roman empire. It appears to have been a role performed by both men and women, as art from this period shows a variety of people spinning flax, linen and silk threads.
Artefacts like these two spindle whorls are often found in Roman sites, and Ambleside Fort is no exception. Look out for future exhibitions on Roman Ambleside at The Armitt, to find out more about the Romans in the Lake District.